Video 10:18
Capitals success

Chris KimballUpdated
Tue 9 Mar 2010, 1:14 PM AEDT

Whether they win or lose the WNBL grand final, the Canberra Capitals remain one of the nation's most successful female sporting teams.

Transcript

CATHERINE GARRETT, PRESENTER: First, though, the Canberra Capitals are the most successful female sporting team in the country. Tomorrow, in Melbourne, they play the Bulleen Boomers in the National Basketball League's Grand Final.

Now whether they win or lose, they command respect. They attract the media, public attention and corporate sponsorship. So what is their winning formula? And, despite their success, how secure is their future?

Chris Kimball reports.

CARRIE GRAF, CANBERRA CAPITALS COACH: Women's sport in a lot of ways is still refreshing. It's a bit like old school men's sport. You can get on the court with the players after and feel their sweat and get their autograph and I think it's how a lot of us when we were kids went to men's sport and ran out on the ground or ran out on the basketball court. I think you can still do that with the Capitals.

LAUREN JACKSON, CANBERRA CAPITALS PLAYER: I guess in Australia I think the Canberra Capitals are definitely the bench mark in women's sport, team sport in particular. But I think that what we've managed to create or what Graffy in particular has managed to create is something so much bigger than just a basketball team.

CHRIS KIMBALL, REPORTER: That team will take to the court in Melbourne on Saturday, aiming to win its 7th championship. That remarkable record and the club's respect within the community have grown in parallel.

PHIL LYNCH, SPORTS COMMENTATOR: They played for so many years and people didn't even know they were playing. They used to play warm up games force the Canberra Cannons and they played games in the tin shed out at the show grounds and I mean they got to start somewhere. But the, unfortunately some of the teams that are still around are playing in similar sorts of situations in other capital cities around Australia.

LAUREN JACKSON: We've got a lot of people who support us who come to our games and are legitimate fans who are like Michael Costello, his wife, Chris Wallace, these are people that who are intellectual, massive intellectual people and they love us. They love the Canberra Capitals and you see them in Sydney and in Melbourne. That sort of support you don't get anywhere in women's sport.

CHRISTINE WALLACE, JOURNALIST/ AUTHOR: There are so few inspiring things around. Try finding an inspiring novel these days, try finding a positive political story they're not there.

So we turn to sports people for inspiration both in our own lives and as a community. The Caps just give it in spades.

CARRIE GRAF: We practice in the gym that every local kid plays at, that the married women's comp plays at. You know so that people see us as just part of the community.

You know, you bump into Lauren Jackson at the IGA supermarket, you know you see someone drive past in a Capital smart car we're just Canberran's too.

CHRIS KIMBALL: Carrie Graf is an influential and incredibly active Canberran. She came to the capital from Sydney as a young coach in 1999.

How you describe your role with the Capitals?

CARRIE GRAF: Jill of all trades. Look I guess that's it. It's just the nature of women's sport unfortunately right now. And coaching and working in women's sport means you have to do many tasks. Pull up the media back drop, go and have a business lunch with key sponsors. Run a kids camp for under tens kids. It's the nature of the job and if you want everyone engaged in what you do, you to have to engage with them.

PHIL LYNCH: You can't under play the role that Carrie has played in this whole thing. She came here about a decade ago with a vision and a real zest for what she's doing. And she kept saying, I want to create a dynasty here in a Canberra. She's never lost sight of that and she's pushed and pushed and pushed until they've gotten to this point. She wants to take it a lot further and she will. But Carrie Graf deserves a whole lot of praise for this.

JOHN MACKAY, CHAIRMAN ACTEW: I'd say Carrie is an absolute chameleon. She can be such a delightful lady but when there's a message she needs to get across, she can do it extremely forcefully. I've seen her in a board room and I've seen her on the sideline and I've seen her socially and she's got the full range of emotions that is needed to do what she does.

CHRIS KIMBALL: How do you describe the personality or the power of Carrie Graf's personality?

LAUREN JACKSON: She's intense. Graffy's a very intense coach. She's obviously a good friend of mine off the court and on the court she's my coach and she's tough. She's very tough. But in saying that there's a soft side to her as well, which doesn't come out that often but when it does it's relief.

But listen if she didn't have that intensity about her, we wouldn't be where we are today.

CARRIE GRAF: You have to get your arse off. You have to get on it. You guys have to get on. Ok.

CHRIS KIMBALL: Carrie Graf recruited Lauren Jackson to the Capitals. Their partnership has been one of the most successful in Australian sport and most grounded. There are few elite international athletes who would spend hours signing autographs or hold up a sponsor's banner.

CARRIE GRAF: For everyone that sees us, they almost chuckle and go what the hell is Lauren Jackson doing standing behind a windy media back drop. But I think it brings back to earth what is wonderful about the Canberra Capitals that we're real. We're just regular folk you know. Lauren doesn't sit and have a coffee and say get one of your media people, we don't have media people, we don't have PR people. But she's prepared to do that I think she sees the realness of Australian sport and women's sport here.

JOHN MACKAY: Lauren has been everywhere since she got back, not just on the court. She was the Australia Day ambassador, she came out and spoke at the women's golf, she was over at the children's hospital the other day, again, she really understands the importance of her role as a basketballer but also her importance of her role in the community.

CARRIE GRAF: When you see 100 kids line up and Lauren Jackson signing autographs for an hour and that those little kids remember that Lauren Jackson looked them in the eye and smiled and touched them like they were the only thing that day. I think that's whenyou go yeah wow, that's powerful.

LAUREN JACKSON: People know who the Canberra Capitals are, even men that hate women's sport they still know who the Canberra Capitals are. We've made a name for ourselves, we've won championships. We've brought a lot of good times to the city, as the city has to us.

CHRIS KIMBALL: So the twin foundations of that success and the passion of Carrie Graf and the phenomenal talent of Lauren Jackson. But the Capitals are much more than two bit personalities. The organisation's offcourt influence is perhaps more important than the trophies and triumphs.

PHIL LYNCH: And if you notice what's happened particularly in the last 12 months, the things that have happened in Canberra in women's sport where we now have a women's soccer team playing in the national women's league, we have a women's cricket team playing in the national women's league, they followed on from the Capitals playing in the national women's league.

And this year we've added a golf tournament for women, one of the biggest golf tournaments in Australia.

Now all of those things that I quote there is no men's equivalent. So something special is happening here in womens sport in Canberra and it's being led by the Capitals.

JOHN MACKAY: I see lots of proposals for sponsorship, and their all very meritorious they can all tell you why they need your money. But what the Caps show is not only why they need your money but what they're going to do for you in return and I think that's the difference. And I think all sorts of sports and other organisations could learn from that example.

CHRISTINE WALLACE: You never see a story in the paper about Caps player overturns table in Goulburn bar and is arrested by police doing 100 down the main street afterwards.

Women athletes seem to be a lot better in the community relations, a lot better in their relationship with fans a pt tidier and smarter in the way they live their lives. And they're setting a good example. These are good stories we should all be taking note of.

CARRIE GRAF: We do want to be leaders. We want to say this is what can be achieved and really we haven't scratched the surface. I mean we still don't get sell out crowds for regular season games, you know that's a bug bear.

We still not until Grand Finals do we get massive back page coverage. We don't get, you know, every regular season game doesn't get the coverage as the football codes. That's still to come. Even though we're doing well, we're still not, we haven't broken through that barrier yet.

LAUREN JACKSON: Definitely, they should be able to. The thing is too, like, when ever I come back to Australia I'm planning on being here. So and Graffy, I don't foresee her leaving any time soon. But the Capitals will survive. They survived before us and they'll survive after us.

CARRIE GRAF: Absolutely. I mean I think it's about a legacy and its a foundation. And I think that foundation's been built. I think it's you know the, the, the thing's in place.

PHIL LYNCH: The Capitals have got a lot of work to do. And this is not the, we haven't seen the Capitals reach their peak, not just on the court in playing but in organisational sense. They've got a long way to go and Carrie knows that and she'll take them even further.

CHRIS KIMBALL: So are we going to see Lauren Jackson with grey hair and crook knees running around for the Caps?

LAUREN JACKSON: Maybe not running around. But grey hair God, no I will be dyeing it for a long time don't worry.

CARRIE GRAF: Who knows I could be you know 70 and still coaching the Canberra Capitals. But I think it would be great to see someone else put their stamp on this thing that's special.

CHRISTINE WALLACE: One of the things that makes Canberra different is we're the most affluent, the most educated and the most progressive and I think possibly the least sexist city in Australia. It's the sort of place where if you thought there would be progress in women's sport this would be it.

COMMENTATOR: It's just special, Daren. This stadium is so special. The way they support this team it gives you goosebumps. To hear the noise and the support that these supporters offer their team.

CATHERINE GARRETT: And of course it goes without saying that we wish them luck for tomorrow's match. The game will be broadcast live on ABC Radio 666 and that's from 1 o'clock.